Reports on Livelihoods

Peter Biro

Research & Resources

Reports on Cash and Livelihoods

Our cash and livelihoods program works to ensure that displaced women and girls have safe economic opportunities to meet their basic needs, to recover from crisis and conflict, and to achieve self-reliance.

As part of a year-long study on urban refugee livelihoods, the Women’s Refugee Commission undertook a field assessment trip to New Delhi, India, from late February to mid-March 2011. The assessment focused on refugees‘ economic coping strategies, protection risks associated with those coping strategies and potential market opportunities. Key stakeholders from the service provider, donor and refugee communities were consulted and the findings reflect an amalgamation of the many voices and perspectives gleaned through the interviews, project site visits and focus group discussions.

This report, based on interviews with 281 refugees and service providers, highlights the constraints and opportunities to improve the livelihoods of urban refugees in Kampala, Uganda. The report is a part of a larger one-year study to understand the economic coping strategies, protection concerns and the local economic environment of urban refugees.

The future of displacement is clearly urban – and clearly fraught with challenges. The Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC) has recently undertaken research into the risks and challenges confronting refugee women in urban areas – as well as the opportunities they gain – as they seek to provide for themselves and their families in settings where international assistance is minimal.

On 27th January 2010 the Permanent Mission of the Principality of Liechtenstein hosted a panel discussion with the Women’s Refugee Commission on: The Link between Livelihoods and Genderbased Violence in Displacement Settings.

In March 2009, the Women’s Refugee Commission partnered with a team of graduate students from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)’s Youth Education Pack (YEP) to field test the Market Assessment Toolkit for Vocational Training Providers and Youth.